after dinner sneeze

t says:  g and I went to Supper a long long time ago and ventured their burger.  It was frickin’ delicious.  Since then, we’ve noticed that no one really mentions the Supper burger – people are too busy talking about burgers at Village Whiskey or Rouge or Butcher and Singer or Grace Tavern, but not a breath about Supper.  I’m not saying that those burgers aren’t also yummy, but to be completely omitted from Philly Mag’s burger challenge is ridiculous (especially cuz I feel it’s better than the VW burger)!  So I figured maybe they stopped making it or something.  But they haven’t.  So I figured maybe it wasn’t as good as I had remembered.  g and I made it our mission to find out …

8/2011, Wednesday 6pm, Party of 2.  g and I rolled into Supper without reservations on a Wednesday.  It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.  They seated us without a problem.  We consulted the menu but knew precisely what we were there for: the burger.  But we got a few apps to whet our appetite.

g's "Green Salad"

Funny thing about the green salad – it wasn’t entirely green.  It had a slice of peach, some bacon, buttermilk dressing, and that cornbread thingee (which reminded me more of some kind of hush puppy).  g housed it.  She says: “It was simple but it was fresh and it let all the ingredients sing.”  So there we go – they make a good salad.

The Pepper "Special"

I had the pepper special.  Holy crap.  It was amazing.  The peppers had a wonderful char on them and the texture had just the right amount of bite (like not too firm and not complete mush).  It was served with a “lime crema”, which, upon investigation (i.e. asking the waiter), consisted of creme fraiche, lime, and “some other herbs”.  There was also some salt and cilantro.  All together, everything made sense.  The peppers were spicy and smokey, tempered by the crema and brightened by some lime and the uplifting zing of cilantro.  I am going to steal that lime crema idea for sure.  The only real drawback of the appetizer is that I feel that the cilantro leaves should have been separated from the stems (and the stems discarded), as I found the stems kind of hard to eat.

Supper Burger.

g and I split the burger because we find that it’s just too large for each of us to get one on our own.  For bigger people, I’d recommend trying one by yourself.  Disclaimer: at $14, it is pricey for a burger – but it does come with some duck fat fries, and it’s the cheapest dinner entree on the menu by far.  The burger is made of ground brisket (as far as I know) and it has such a wonderful flavor.  It’s not just “hey, I’m beef” – there’s something more.  It has a delightfully seared outside, a sweet inside, and is, as should be, well-seasoned.  I will say that this time, however, we found the burger to be a bit on the crumbly side, so I do have to penalize them for that (I had to use my fork to hunt down the pieces of meat the escaped from the burger onto the plate).  The gruyere cheese brought in a nice cheesy funk without overpowering the thickly cut bacon and beef.  The healthy slice of yellow tomato was perfect, and the bread, which appeared thick, was actually quite soft and served in a perfect proportion to the amount of meat.  Despite the burger being a bit volatile this time around, I say that the Supper burger has retained its adsz crown.  The duck fat fries were crispy and well-seasoned (no one likes soggy fries – and I like these ones better than at VW) and pickles and were perfectly balanced between sour and sweet (I ate them plain!).

So go to Supper.  Get the burger.  Really the only thing you’ll regret is feeling a little like a cheapskate in paying so much less for an entree than everyone else at the table.  But I’m sure you’ll find some way to get over it …  Now, I do still have to get around to Grace Tavern, Rouge, and Butcher and Singer – so we’ll see what happens when push comes to shove …